Spiderman 3: Sony, P9 in marketing overdrive

MUMBAI: Spiderman mania is set to hit the world yet again this year with its third installment. The movie is set to release worldwide on 4 May and Sony Pictures Releasing of India along with P9 Integrated is looking at making the most out of the hugely popular franchise in terms of marketing and promotional tie-ups.

While Sony has already roped in Horlicks, GMÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s Diptricks along with Sony and Sony Ericsson, the companies are looking at roping in as many ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œstrategic, relevant and meaningfulÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â brand associations as possible.

Worldwide Sony Pictures will be pumping in close to $ 100 million in marketing Spiderman 3, whereas another $ 100 million will be in the form of promotions with brand partners, informs Sony Pictures Releasing of India manager marketing Harshavardhan Gangurde. However, he refrains from putting a figure to the moolah that will be spent in India. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAll I can say is that for Spiderman 2, the noise levels in India were worth at least Rs 80 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 90 million (Rs 8 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 9 crores), so this time round it will definitely be more than that,ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â Gangurde says.

The movie will be released in India in four languages – English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu with more than 500 prints. Out of these, 150 prints will be in English and the rest 350 prints will be in the vernacular languages, thus ensuring a wider reach of the film. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œThis will also provide an opportunity for local brands to associate with the movie and hence will not limit only brands with a pan India presence to come on board,ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â adds Gangurde.

In his pitch to clients, P9 Integrated CEO Navin Shah said, “A detailed presentation like this helps the companies in knowing the essence of the particular film and understanding the plethora of opportunities they can leverage from associating with it. It gives them a platform to understand the various avenues that this medium can give for their brands and products vis-ÃƒÆ’ -vis of them using traditional mediums.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â

Touting Spiderman 3 to be the biggest Hollywood grosser of the year, Gangurde says, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œIn India, while Spiderman grossed Rs 270 million (Rs 27 crores) in 2002, Spiderman 2 touched Rs 340 million (Rs 34 crores) in 2004. We are confident that with Spiderman 3, we will double the amount collected by the second part in India,ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â he says.

Sony Pictures India CEO Uday Singh adds, “We would like to leverage on P9ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s expertise in providing parallel revenue models to producers and simultaneously provide prominent podiums for corporate and media to utilize entertainment brands as an effective catalyst in their marketing mix.”

Sony and P9 will be looking at a complete 360 degree media mix to create hype around Spiderman 3. Print, television, outdoor, Internet, radio, merchandising, interactivity with mobile gaming and below the line (BTL) activities such as school contact programs and retail events are all on the agenda.

ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œThe themes that are prevalent in the Spiderman 3 storyline are action, adventure, vengeance, love, survival and good versus evil. Hence products with these brand properties can come on board so as to leverage Spiderman 3ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s key proven success to assist in revisiting previous promotional partnerships and at the same time also acquire new partners,ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â says Gangurde.

For Spiderman 2, brands in India such as KelloggÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s Chocos, AirTel, Sony Ericsson, Sony World, Mirinda tied up with the franchise. While KelloggÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s Chocos saw a 55 per cent hike in off take, AirTel witnessed 10,000 downloads of the Spiderman mobile game Sony Ericsson saw 30 per cent jump in sales and Sony World outlets saw over 100,000 footfalls in its stores with the sales of Cybershot going up by 300 per cent.